Italian actor Giuliano Gemma (Giuliano Gemma): biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Italian cinema was megapopular in our country throughout the second half of the 20th century. Moreover, the cinemas were sold out both on the days when serious films were shown, and during screenings of comedies and the so-called "spaghetti westerns". Giuliano Gemma was a recognized star among the Italian actors who starred in films of the latter genre.

Childhood

The future actor was born in 1938 in Rome. At the beginning of the war, his family moved to the town of Reggio Emilia and returned to the capital only in 1944. From school, the boy loved cinema and sports, which largely determined his future career. At the age of 12, Giuliano became interested in gymnastics, and from the age of fifteen he began to box. Subsequently, good physical preparation helped him become a stuntman, which contributed to a quick start in the cinema.

Beginning of film career

In 1956, Giuliano Gemma came to the Cinechetta studio, where extras were needed to shoot films, mostly historicalcontent. A young man with an attractive appearance and athletic figure was immediately noticed, and when it turned out that he was also a professional athlete, they were invited to work as a stuntman.

The actor played his first episodic role in the film "Venice, the moon and you" by Dino Risi. This hilarious comedy starred the brilliant Alberto Sordi, who at that time was already a recognized star of Italian cinema. Apparently, Giuliano did his job pretty well, so he was invited to the episodic role of a Roman officer in the film "Ben Hur", which today is considered one of the masterpieces of world cinema. The film was released in 1959 and won an Oscar in eleven nominations, breaking all records. Although Gemma's surname was not even listed in the credits, his stately figure and radiant smile were remembered by the audience and attracted the attention of film producers and directors.

Early creativity

Giuliano Gemma starred for the first time in 1962. The debut in this capacity took place in the satirical film "Invasion of the Titans" directed by Ducho Tessari. From that moment began their successful collaboration, which resulted in a series of "spaghetti westerns" in which Giuliano Gemma performed under the pseudonym Montgomery Wood. The character that the actor personified was called Ringo, and he immediately fell in love with the audience not only in Italy, but throughout the world.

In general, the 60s of the last century were very successful for the film career of Giuliano Gemma. In particular, in parallel with the work on the paintings of Ducho Tessari, he starred in the famoushistorical adventure films about Angelica by film director Bernard Borderie, in which he played the role of the brave robber Nicolas, who has been in love with the irresistible marquise since childhood.

Giuliano Gemma Movies

Throughout his career in film, the actor has sought to try himself in different roles. So, he played General Garibaldi in The Leopard (1963) by Luchino Visconti, the main role of the anti-fascist hero in the film Corbari (1970) by Valentino Orsini, as well as the main character Nullo Bronzi in the acutely social film drama Crime in the Name of Love by Luigi Comencini.

Giuliano Gemma has repeatedly received high film awards for his work. One of them was the role of Major Mattis in the film "The Tartari Desert". She brought the artist a special award "David di Donatello" and a nomination in the "Silver Ribbon" competition of the National Syndicate of Film Journalists of Italy.

Another famous work of Giuliano Gemma was the role of the incorruptible police chief Cesaro Mori in Pasquale Squitieri's film "Iron Prefect". For her, in 1978, the artist received an international film award at the Karlovy Vary festival.

Working with Squitieri brought Gemma several more prestigious awards, this time for his role in the 1979 film Corleone. Around the same time, director Damiano Damiani invited the artist to the drama Man on His Knees. In it, Giuliano Gemma played the main role, very difficult psychologically, and received the Grolla D'Oro award.

ForFor a long career as an artist, such world stars as Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Klaus Kinski, Alain Delon, Max von Sydow, Jacques Perrin, Ernest Borgnine, Philippe Noiret, Michel Mercier, Catherine Deneuve, Ursula Andress became his partners on film and television screens., Claudia Cardinale and Aurora Clement.

Television work

Giuliano Gemma also worked a lot on television. So, in 1985-1986, the actor starred in the role of Italian police captain Maffei in the serial film "Masterpiece Hunters", which was also shown in our country. His work in the television movie "Italian History" also turned out to be memorable. The picture was a resounding success and was liked by critics, for which the artist received the Silver Star award.

It is impossible not to mention the participation of Julian Gemma in the most interesting adventure mini-series "Desert on Fire". This project is considered the most successful brainchild of director Enzo Castellari, and it involved such distinguished veterans of European cinema as Claudia Cardinale, Franco Nero, Mathieu Carrière, Vittorio Gassman and Virna Lisi. In the TV series Desert on Fire, Giuliano Gemma also played with young French stars - Anthony Delon and Ariel Dombal, and the music for the film was written by Stefano Mainetti. This project won the hearts of viewers in many countries, and it was repeatedly shown on television, including in our country.

Giuliano Gemma: personal life

The famous actor was married twice. At the end of his life, he moved to Cerveteri, where he lived with his wife DanielaBaba Richerme, for whom he had an ardent love for many years. From his first marriage he had 2 daughters: Juliana and Vera. The latter, like her father, chose an acting career.

Last years of life and tragic death

At a fairly mature age, Giuliano Gemma became known as a very good sculptor, working mainly with metal. As the artist himself recalled, from early childhood he was fond of modeling clay and carving figures from wood. His work in the field of fine arts resulted in several interesting bronze compositions, which confirmed the well-known saying that a talented person is talented in everything.

In October 2013, at the age of 75, Giuliano Gemma was involved in a serious car accident in his own car. As a result, the artist was seriously injured and was taken to a hospital in the city of Civitavecchia. The efforts of the doctors were in vain: he died a few hours later.

We introduced you to a brief biography of Giuliano Gemma, who at the dawn of his film career starred in the famous Oscar-winning film "Ben Hur", and then for about half a century delighted the audience with numerous wonderful and memorable acting jobs.